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| Portion Control is the Key to Success |
There are so many helpful resources available on the internet these days. I recently visited the Joslin Diabetes Center website to find out more about their recommendations regarding healthy eating for kids living with diabetes. At the top of the page I saw the title “Key To Success: Portion Control.” The article on the page begins “The amount of food you eat is closely related to blood glucose control. If you eat more food than is recommended in your meal plan, your blood glucose (sugar) will go up. The only way you can tell if you are eating the right amount is to measure your foods carefully.” No matter what age we are or what chronic condition we may be living with and managing, eating healthy is all about what we eat and how much we eat. Portion Control is the key to success.
5 Portion Control Tips to Help Kids Living with Diabetes
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| LivSpoons are a Great Tool for Easy Measuring |
1. Easy measuring. Finding ways to measure that are easy and repeatable is a must when we know portion control and portioning amounts is critical to our health. Having a scale to weigh your food and having measuring/serving spoons to portion your foods are must haves. Check out LivSpoons for easy measuring. They come in 6 measuring cup sizes and are handy for prepping food as well as serving it up in right-sized amounts. They are made of stainless steel so they are durable and kid tested!
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| We Need Balance with the Combination of Foods We Eat |
2. Balanced Diet. We know that just eating one type of food isn’t good for us. We need balance in our diet to live health. We also know each food type has its own portion size. How do we know how much to eat of any given type of food to eat a balanced diet? There is a handy line of dinnerware that has built into its design what a balanced meal looks like and also what the standard measurements are for each food group. They even have a kid’s line designed, Kidliga, just for a kid’s right-sized eating!
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| Make Measurement a Part of your Daily Routine |
3. Practice, Practice, Practice. Living life as our healthiest selves requires eating healthy consistently. In order to eat well we need to create a system of healthy habits that is doable, repeatable and sustainable. Setting up your kitchen for healthy eating is key. Making measurement a part of your routine when prepping and serving food then becomes the way you do things so it becomes a habit. Right-sized dishware for the whole family is an easy way to make right-sized eating your new norm.
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| Portioning our Snacks as well as our Meals helps us to be Mindful |
4. Mindfulness. A lot of our eating is done without thinking. How many times have you opened a bag of potato chips to eat just a few and then realize several minutes later you have eaten the whole bag!? If we are not present when we eat we can end up eating way more than we intended. When living with diabetes it is important to be present when you eat and aware of what you are eating so you can manage your blood glucose and insulin dosage appropriately. Portioning snacks as well as meals helps us to avoid mindless eating.
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| Eating Healthy is a Way of Life |
5. Involve the entire family in Healthy Eating. Eating healthy is a way of life. If one person is living with a chronic illness, like diabetes, it affects the entire family. Healthy eating benefits everyone. Creating a healthy eating environment at home and making it a part of everyday life makes sustaining and, perhaps more importantly, enjoying a healthy lifestyle possible. Looking for some healthy recipes your entire family can enjoy? The Live Vibrant blog is a great resource!
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